July 11, 2024 |
Somerset House is one of London’s great venues. A historic and versatile space sitting pretty in the middle of The Strand, its cobblestone courtyard has been the stage for countless exhibitions, historical tours and, most recently, fashion shows – with studio resident Charles Jeffrey using it as the site of his 10th anniversary SS25 showcase. Now, the time has come for one of its most revered cultural events: the Summer Series, an intimate and immersive series of gigs sponsored by American Express.
Rooting itself in the diversity of the global music community, the eleven-night lineup is spaced out across the month of July, starting tonight and ending on July 21. With a particular focus on upcoming and breakthrough artists, it’s become a staple of London’s summer calendar and an unmissable tribute to the joy of musical performance. Kicking off the festivities tonight are neo-soul artists Pip Millett and Nia Smith, with an exciting array of acts like DBN Gogo, Corinne Bailey Rae, Smino, The Amazons, Hak Baker and the legendary Patti Smith to follow. To celebrate the commencement of this year’s iteration, we sat down with Millett, Baker and Bailey Rae to ask what they’re most looking forward to about their performance and what it means for them to be on the Somerset House Summer Series bill.
CORINNE BAILEY RAE
1. This is your third appearance at Summer Series – what’s your favourite thing about performing here?
I think the way that the building holds the audience is really amazing. It’s great to perform in that historic space. It has been a place of safety for hundreds of years different people have holed up in there, including Napoleon. I think it’s a really interesting building in the way that it used to have the Thames come right up to the door and launch ships from there. The way that the audience can just be outdoors, but surrounded on all sides by the building and where they set up the stage, I think it’s a really interesting space to perform in to feel like you’re right in the centre of London, but you’re not in a park, you’re not in a theatre, you’re outdoors in this place where there’s been so much art and music and performance. That’s my favourite thing – the actual venue itself is great.
2. You’ll be performing your latest LP Black Rainbows, can you tell us a bit more about the inspiration behind this release?
It’s a really different record for me because it was inspired by the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago, which is this place of archive – it’s an old bank that was going to be torn down by the city. It was saved from demolition by this visual artist, Theaster Gates, he bought it for $1 and then he raised $4 million through selling his own art to transform this building. So now instead of being full of money, it’s full of this historic archive that has 26,000 books that were collected by and submitted to the Johnson Publishing Corporation, who made Ebony Magazine, Jet Magazine and Negro Digest. All of these books on these black subjects ranging from history, politics, architecture, dance, recipe books, entertainers, it’s really fascinating. And then it has all of Frankie Knuckles’ records, Godfather of House music, it has all the records he ever played because when he died, they were given to the bank. So I went there, just as a tourist and all I could do was just go through drawers and look at photographs. I was intrigued by the stories, I wanted to know how these things got there, newspaper articles, photographs and dolls, it’s just a treasure trove of stuff. So when I left, all I could do was just think about what was in this bank. I just found myself writing stories, and writing poems and writing songs about the things that I’d encountered. So on the album, every single song is inspired by an object or a group of objects in the building. And so because of that, it’s a really diverse range of subjects on the album. And also musically, it’s really diverse. I thought it was going to be a solo project, so I thought, “Oh, this is kind of really different for me, I will just make it a solo project, I won’t put my name on it.” And so because of that I just felt really free. And I ended up making a record that I really like, and in the end I have kind of claimed it as my album. But before then it was just going to be a side project, so that’s how it came about.
3. Would you say it feels almost like a microcosm of the black experience in terms of you covering that diversity? Because there’s not just one kind of track?
Exactly, it’s not one experience. And that’s another reason why it’s called Black Rainbows, to pay attention to that. I think as someone who’s from black diaspora culture, but also black multi-ethnic. There’s so many different experiences. I was really into this book called ‘The Sovereignty of Quiet’ by Kevin Quashie and it’s about how there’s so much emphasis placed on blackness as being all about being an activist, like black art being activist art. And this book is saying the interiority of black lives is really important, people being reflective and thoughtful and facing inwards, that has a lot of value and that’s to be admired, respected, celebrated. When I read that book, I felt really sort of justified in the work that I’ve made so far, which is really personal. I’ve always been a big believer in that personal maxim is political and that it’s totally acceptable to be a black artist and write about love, and relationships and personal things, it doesn’t have to be activist focus. I like the idea of a rainbow being the full spectrum of experiences, and sonically, it’s the rainbow.
4. What do you hope fans take away from listening to Black Rainbows?
I hope that they’ll get to see more sides of the music that I make. I think a lot of people who’ve seen us play live before, they know that I like to play my guitar and rock out, and that I was in an indie band called ‘Helen’ when I was a teenager. And I think even when I was playing my first record, I would still cover Led Zeppelin songs and try and let people know. Kurt Cobain is as big an influence on me as Billie Holiday. I think the people who’ve seen me a lot live, this isn’t that unfamiliar, but to other people who just know one or two songs, it’s really nice to surprise people. It’s really good to feel like I’m getting to show a wide range of feelings and styles on this record. And of course, to me, the stories are really important. And I’m always really happy to share a story like the story of Harriet Jacobs, who escaped her plantation by hiding out on the plantation for seven years. She’s a really incredible woman, so I’m always happy to share those stories on stage and feel like more is being communicated than just stuff from my own life.
5. What can fans expect from you then in the upcoming years?
Well, I feel really free at the moment. So I’m looking forward to doing more projects that are about freedom and about expression. I like to write music, and I just want to do a good job. So I think I’m excited to see what I’ll make after having had a project like this, which has been all about looking outwards and listening to people’s stories and just following your inspiration. So I feel really freed by a situation like that, which has been really independent for me, so I’m looking forward to making more music from a really independent place.
HAK BAKER
1. You’re London-born and bred – how does it feel to be playing and bringing your sound to such an established London institution like Somerset House?
Well it’s actually called Reef House for the night thank you! Joking, or am I? Nah man, it fills me with joy, to bring my stories of love, pain, joy, and anguish of the common folk, it makes me feel warm and accomplished. I never want to change who I am, what I represent and who I sing for. It feels great that my bull-headedness inherited from my grandmother and perseverance has worked. I only want to encourage the try-harders to keep trying hard no matter what. I’m glad this opportunity gives me the opportunity to represent the working class opportunists!
2. Your most recent single is a collaboration with DJ Toddla T and you’re sharing the Somerset House stage with him, Heartless Crew, and Bel Cobain – why is collaboration in music important to you?
Toddla T is a legend, we’ve been working together for a while and I respect him. He is a by-product of the Heartless Crew, figureheads of working class and black entertainment and to have them both performing alongside each other again fills me with joy. They are an ilk of British music culture. Something I am trying to become. It’s an honour to let the bosses lead the way. Bel Cobain is a fellow troubadour, honouring life with true lyrics in how she sees it. A fellow East Londoner and leader of the new school with her oldskool energy. She’s great and it’s another honour to host her in such an elaborate arena.
3. Who or what do you look to for inspiration when developing your music?
Life. I comment on life, I keep my eyes open and try to be analytical upon it.
4. What do you hope listeners take away from your music?
Opportunity and hope. I don’t hide my falls all in ode to show you can fail a million times but still get up and push toward your wildest wildest dreams. Also to be in touch with yourself, emotions are important and it’s important to identify them and speak them aloud.
5. What can we expect from you in the next few months?
Nostalgia Death, Act 1. Sweet music to one’s ears!!
PIP MILLET
1. You released your new EP Tell Jimmy I’m Fine earlier this summer – what were the inspirations behind this latest release?
The inspiration behind the latest release, Tell Jimmy I’m Fine, was really moving forward after being hurt, and I guess being honest with myself with how insecure I was feeling and then moving eventually into a place of lust and maybe understanding my worth a bit more.
2. Will you be performing this EP at the Summer Series and if so, what are you most looking forward to performing this new music live?
I will be performing bits of the EP at Summer Series. I’m really excited to play this new music live. And I am very excited to do it with a little string section as well. I think it sounds really magical and I’m hoping people will love it. I feel quite excited to perform ‘Better’. I really do love performing the song better. I did it for my Colors performance, it’s actually the only time I’ve done it but I really love that song.
3. You’re British-born and bred – how does it feel to be playing and bringing your sound to such an established British institution like Somerset House?
I am British, correct, but my dad was Jamaican, if I was to be completely honest, I don’t know how British I feel. I don’t know, what is it to be British? Sorry I’m getting complex there, I mean I feel very excited to play the venue because I think it’s so beautiful and it feels very special. It feels like an incredibly special venue. I’ve played it before when I supported Ghetts a couple of years ago and I don’t know, there’s just a feeling to it, isn’t there?
4. What do you like the most about performing live?
I think I just love seeing everybody out there. I love seeing people sing along but I love just watching them have a good time, you know? Whether they’re alone or with a group of friends or family, everyone’s in a good mood and I love that! We’re all just there together, kind of just feeling through the songs, I love that about performing. It’s a big hit of adrenaline for sure but I really do love that it’s all of us together having a good time.
5. What can fans expect from you in the upcoming year?
I guess more music and I think ideally next year I would release an album and I would do some shows. Because this year obviously I’ve really limited the shows, it’s a little break for me. Next year it would be nice to do some shows, so we’ll see what happens.
Photography courtesy of Somerset House.
